Company:Equitybee
| File:Equity Bee logo.png | |
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Financial technology |
| Founded | 2017 |
| Founder |
|
| Headquarters | Palo Alto, California, United States |
Area served | United States |
| Services | Employee stock option financing; private market access |
| Website | www |
Equitybee is an Israeli-American financial technology company that operates a platform for financing employee stock-option exercises in private companies. The company was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Palo Alto, California.[1] The platform facilitates agreements between startup employees and accredited investors to finance the exercise of vested stock options prior to liquidity events such as acquisitions or initial public offerings.[2][3]
History
Equitybee was founded in 2017 by Oren Barzilai, Oded Golan, and Mody Radashkovich.[1]
In September 2018, Equitybee raised a $1.5 million seed funding round led by Adam Neumann.[4]
In 2020, the company expanded into the United States market and established operations in Silicon Valley.[5]In February 2020, Equitybee raised $6.6 million in a financing round led by Group11, with participation from Battery Ventures and LocalGlobe.[6]
In February 2021, TechCrunch reported that the company had raised $20 million in a funding round led by Group 11.[7] Later that year, TechCrunch reported that Equitybee raised $55 million in Series B financing. In March 2023, Equitybee launched a platform that enables startup employees to estimate the market value of their stock options and equity holdings.[8]
Operations
Equitybee facilitates agreements between employees of private companies and accredited investors to finance the exercise of vested stock options.[9] The platform is used in transactions involving private-company equity before liquidity events such as acquisitions or initial public offerings.
The company has also offered pooled investment vehicles linked to employee stock-option transactions.[10]
Equitybee and similar employee stock-option financing platforms were discussed in reporting by The New York Times[11] and CNBC[12] concerning difficulties startup employees face in accessing liquidity and changes in private-market financing. In 2022, EquityBee was included in Forbes Next Billion-Dollar Startups 2022.[13]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Israeli stock options funding co EquityBee raises $55m". 29 September 2021. https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-israeli-stock-options-funding-co-equitybee-raises-55m-1001385669.
- ↑ Pimentel, Benjamin (11 February 2020). "EquityBee's 36-year-old CEO saw friends and colleagues lose access to their stock options. He launched a startup to help them and used this pitch deck to raise $6.6 million.". https://www.businessinsider.com/equitybee-startup-employees-exercise-stock-options-2020-2.
- ↑ Lunden, Ingrid (29 September 2021). "EquityBee snaps up $55M for a marketplace that connects employees with capital to help them exercise their stock options". https://techcrunch.com/2021/09/29/equitybee-snaps-up-55m-for-a-marketplace-that-connects-employees-with-capital-to-help-them-exercise-their-stock-options/.
- ↑ Stoler, Tofi (2018-09-12). "WeWork’s Adam Neumann Invests in Stock Option Marketplace EquityBee". https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3745971,00.html.
- ↑ EquityBee. "EquityBee Accelerates Growth With $20M Series A Funding Led by Group 11" (in en). https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/equitybee-accelerates-growth-with-20m-series-a-funding-led-by-group-11-301233125.html.
- ↑ Orbach, Meir (2020-02-11). "Stock Option Marketplace EquityBee Raises $6.6 Million". https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3792272,00.html.
- ↑ Azevedo, Mary Ann (22 February 2021). "EquityBee raises $20M to help startup employees actually afford their stock options". https://techcrunch.com/2021/02/22/equitybee-raises-20m-to-help-startup-employees-actually-afford-their-stock-options/.
- ↑ Wrobel, Sharon (2023-03-29). "Israeli fintech startup helps tech workers crunch value of stock options" (in en-US). The Times of Israel. ISSN 0040-7909. https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-fintech-startup-helps-tech-workers-crunch-value-of-stock-options/.
- ↑ Chen, Ruiqi (18 November 2021). "EquityBee Taps Former BlackRock Director Smith as Legal Boss (2)". https://news.bloomberglaw.com/business-and-practice/neumann-backed-equitybee-taps-blackrock-director-as-legal-boss.
- ↑ "Equitybee Launches Innovative Fund to Open the Venture Capital Asset Class to More Investors". 20 June 2024. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/equitybee-launches-innovative-fund-open-140000429.html.
- ↑ Griffith, Erin (20 July 2022). "Loans Could Burn Start-Up Workers in Downturn". https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/20/technology/loans-startup-employees.html.
- ↑ Levy, Ari; Novet, Jordan (7 July 2022). "How startups are dealing with the hardest fundraising climate in more than a decade". https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/07/startups-reckoning-with-an-end-to-cheap-capital-face-hard-decisions-.html.
- ↑ Feldman, Amy (16 August 2022). "Next Billion-Dollar Startups 2022". https://www.forbes.com/sites/amyfeldman/2022/08/16/next-billion-dollar-startups-2022/.
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